Boris Johnson is supporting a rebel Tory plan to begin deportations of asylum seekers to Rwanda by ignoring a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.
Rishi Sunak faces a fresh challenge by hardliners to beef up his crackdown on cross-Channel crossings – just one day after he announced new measures designed to tackle the small boats crisis.
A backbench bill, also backed by former cabinet ministers Priti Patel and Jacob Rees-Mogg – to be debated on Wednesday – aims to take back “parliamentary sovereignty” over the court.
Supporters claim that, by ignoring the court’s ruling that stalled flights to Rwanda, deportations could finally begin, although the controversial policy is also being challenged in UK courts.
They claim Mr Sunak – whose asylum package did not mention the European court – is failing to act on a promise not to allow the court to “inhibit our ability to properly control our borders”.
The ten-minute bill has little chance of making progress, but the government is expected to oppose it, triggering an uncomfortable vote on an issue undermining public support for the Tories.
Mr Johnson’s intervention comes after he helped force Mr Sunak into a U-turn over onshore wind farms, adding to evidence that he will be a thorn in his side from the backbenches.
Jonathan Gullis, the Conservative MP putting forward the bill, said: “Immigration lawyers have been able to stop deportations to Rwanda because of appeals to the ECHR in Strasbourg.
“The British people invest their trust in Parliament, not unaccountable European courts. We believe Parliament is the ultimate law-making body. Therefore, it is shocking that we have let these judgments get in the way of our immigration policy.”
Ms Patel, while home secretary, signed a deal with Rwanda to deport asylum seekers arriving in the UK, but the Brussels court issued an injunction ahead of legal challenges in the UK.
Many Conservative MPs argue it is the only way to break the business model of the criminal gangs organising the Channel crossings – although the Home Office failed to produce any evidence that it would.
In an article for The Daily Telegraph, Mr Gullis has written that, during the summer Tory leadership campaign, the future prime minister had vowed “where the ECHR is a problem, I will tackle it”.
The MP added: “It is unacceptable that the European Court of Human Rights undermines the will of the British people.”
On Tuesday, Mr Sunak staked his credibility on successfully cutting the number of crossings, which are set to top 50,000 in this calendar year.
New guidance will make it “crystal clear that Albania is a safe country,” therefore asylum applications should be rejected, and modern slavery laws will be diluted.
The number of asylum caseworkers will be doubled, to clear a vast backlog of claims, and legislation early next year will ensure no-one entering the UK illegally is allowed to stay.
